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| It's that time of the year. |
Two
days ago, while walking to the compost, a young grouse exploded out of the
weeds beside our field, startling me and brightening my day. On the way back to
the house two more thundered to the air, catching the attention of Maggie, our
youngest German wirehair. For the next twenty minutes she hunted that patch of
woods hard, but found no more birds.
It
is the time of the year when the young grouse are exploring their world. The
young birds are not always the brightest and either they learn quickly or end
up as somebody’s dinner. Often they appear dazed at a roadside and would make
easy pickings for hawk. By October they are a different bird, wary and wild.
Fortunately,
at this time of the year, there is a smorgasbord of things to eat. Blueberries
are abundant and soon raspberries will follow. Insects are everywhere, to
supply much needed protein. All sorts of plants are going to seed,
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| Her young were hiding in the weeds. |
Two
weeks ago, a short distance down our gravel road, a grouse stood like a statue
while her brood hunkered down in the roadside weeds. Before we could get
pictures, she strutted into the brush to vanish.
A
week before that the same experience happened on a logging road miles in the
woods. That one sat for a picture.
On
the way to a blueberry patch this morning we saw a woodcock standing on the
asphalt of a winding back road. Before the camera could come out it leapt into
the air to fly away in the classic erratic flight of a woodcock. A friend had
asked only a day or so ago if I had seen any woodcock lately and I had said no.
Is
it going to be a good bird hunting year? Only a fool will make a prediction. In
the meantime the brookies are biting and there are blueberries to pick.
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| Headed for a pie. |
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